Rachel Karp, a sophomore at Western Connecticut State University, serves as president of the recently formed Entrepreneurship Research and Innovation Center at the college,
Thursday, February 25, 2016.

Rachel Karp, a sophomore at Western Connecticut State University, serves as president of the recently formed Entrepreneurship Research and Innovation Center at the college,
Thursday, February 25, 2016.

Rachel Karp, a sophomore at Western Connecticut State University, serves as president of the recently formed Entrepreneurship Research and Innovation Center at the college,
Thursday, February 25, 2016.

Rachel Karp, a sophomore at Western Connecticut State University, serves as president of the recently formed Entrepreneurship Research and Innovation Center at the college,
Thursday, February 25, 2016.

“We’re going to provide our students with the confidence, the skills and the edge that they need to be successful,” said John Clark, Western’s president who was appointed last year. “I have a huge concern for our students and their future in these challenging times. Many of our students weren’t born with silver spoons in their mouths, and it’s our moral and fiduciary responsibility to prepare them for the future.”

As part of the effort, the university recently christened the Entrepreneurship, Research and Innovation Center (ERIC), an organization based out of the university’s west side campus that will include a co-working space and bring in mentors from the local business community. But unlike some programs geared toward business students, the resources will be available to all on campus regardless of their chosen major.

“We want to share this with the entire school,” said Pauline Assenza, a business professor who is serving as an adviser to ERIC. “There may be physical therapists or psychology majors who want to open their own practice, or education students who have their own ideas they want to bring to life. Innovation, ideas and the entrepreneurial spirit can come from anywhere.”

Clark said that while the effort will likely take several years to come to fruition, he also hopes to develop an incubator and research space within the university that students can use to collaborate with each other, staff members and the greater community.

“John Dewey once said, ‘Give the pupils something to do, not something to learn; and the doing is of such a nature as to demand thinking; learning naturally results,” he said. “We’re going to be giving the students something to do.”

The effort is similar to other incubator centers created at universities in the state including the University of Connecticut, which started the Entrepreneurship & Innovation Consortium that offers entrepreneurial training and coaches venture development.

Sacred Heart University in Fairfield has also expanded its reach in the startup arena, buoyed by the $50 million Marisa Martire Business & Communications Center that opened last year and houses the communications department as well as the Jack Welch College of Business. The business school produces the New England Journal of Entrepreneurship, which is published bi-annually.

“There is a lot of momentum across the state to move in this direction,” said Assenza. “Just last fall, the University of Bridgeport opened its own co-working space, and Central (Connecticut State University) is in talks about doing it as well. But each one of us have different assets and different community needs. Obviously we will be focusing on the needs of western Connecticut.”

Clark said he wants a school that is open to the community, where residents, students, faculty and people from the Danbury area can collaborate on innovative ideas and help bring them to life.

“We want to be the innovation hub for the region,” he said.

Urban mind set

Mike Kaltschnee, who co-founded the Danbury Hackerspace on Main Street with Jon Gatrell, said Clark visited the space during his first few days in the job last year.

“He has a big vision for Western and it would be a great resource to have an innovation center on campus,“ he said. “It's great to see a renewed energy on campus. Clark is bringing a mind set to Western that you only typically see in more urban universities. We are very excited about all the potential synergies."

Rachael Karp, the student president at ERIC, is charged with building interest among students, and already has a list of more than 80 students that want to get involved, she said.

“What’s really exciting is the opportunity to collaborate not only with other students, but with outside corporations, business firms and other organizations that can bring more resources to the table,” said Karp, a sophomore with a double major in marketing and theater arts. “We’re lucky to have a president like Clark who is so enthusiastic and passionate about the effort.”